Waterfront trail cuts through United Empire Loyalist land

There can be little doubt what rules the Niagara Peninsula these days.

It used to be the United Empire Loyalists, the wave of migrants of European descent who arrived from the newly independent United States more than 200 years ago because they wanted to remain loyal to the British crown.

Their history is very much in evidence during a seven-day cycling trip along Ontario's Waterfront Trail in mid-May from Niagara-on-the Lake to Rivière Beaudette on the Quebec border - a distance of almost 730 kilometres.

The Loyalists settled the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, exerting a profound influence on the social, political and business life of Ontario for more than two centuries and playing a major role in the development of Canada. Evidence of the Loyalists is everywhere - Loyalist College, Loyalist Parkway, Loyalist Township and even Loyalist Motel.

But the real royalty of the Niagara Peninsula these days is the grape. The reputation of Ontario's wines - most of which are produced in this region - is well established internationally, and during our first day of cycling after leaving old and beautifully restored Niagara-on-the-Lake, we pass endless fields of trained vines. The only respite from the vineyards are the orchards full of blossoming peach and cherry trees.

The rise of a quality wine industry (anyone remember Baby Duck?) is symbolic of changes sweeping through Ontario, including the development of the Waterfront Trail, inaugurated last year after 12 years of trying to bring almost 70 municipalities and other groups around to a single purpose.

The trail falls under the responsibility of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, whose goal is to give people greater access to the lake and river and return the shorelines to a more natural state.

It may not now be the pristine beauty that the loyalists first saw, but success of the mandate can be seen in the great numbers of water birds - including Canada Geese, ducks and swans - that nest along the shore. We also see marinas packed with sailboats, cabin cruisers and motor boats for fishing.

The western end of Lake Ontario has undergone a considerable cleanup after decades of being a dumping site for sewage and industrial effluents. Rotting fish once covered the shores, and swimming was out of the question.

Our intrepid group, five cyclists plus a driver for our support van, encountered a steady stream of walkers, joggers and cyclists - and many young mothers pushing strollers - taking in the beauty of the lake as we sped along the rejuvenated shore, covering about 100 kilometres a day.

We left Niagara-on-the-Lake, ablaze in tree blossoms and tulips, and cruised along bike paths. Soon we moved on to the highway with shoulders paved for cycling, sailing past the vineyards ready to bask in the summer sun.

All our gear, including a large cooler packed with bananas and beer, was contained in the van driven by Jean Boicey. Her mandate on the first morning was to load up at a local winery, in this case Peller Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake - some for consumption when we stopped for the day, some for taking home.

We crossed the Welland Canal, and the highway gave way to the residential streets of St. Catharines.

Later, we drifted along the shoulder of the service road of the Queen Elizabeth Way, the busy multi-lane expressway linking the lakeshore communities to Toronto - part of the most densely populated region of Ontario.

Then came Stoney Creek and the wide waterfront path of Hamilton, which runs beside a sandy beach to the Burlington Skyway. We crossed the entrance to Hamilton Harbour, which leads to the blackened shore dominated by the steel mills on the bridge of Eastport Drive and continued on the beach path of Burlington.

We joined the traffic of Lakeshore Rd. to Burloak Rd. on the western border of Oakville and turned north to Bronte Creek Provincial Park, where we set up camp for the night after getting incorrect directions and circling the park. This added 15 kilometres to the 100 we had already pedalled.

One of our number was squeezed by a truck going through the underpass at the QEW, but that inconvenience was wiped out by a courtesy extended to us the following day. On the way back to Lakeshore Rd. the next morning, a van held back the heavy traffic to allow us to go through the narrow tunnel unhindered. Safely on the other side, I gave him the thumbs up as he overtook us and he waved back.

(A recent gesture like that by two motorists in Montreal (the St. John Blvd. overpass at Highway 40) earned them honking rebukes by other motorists.)

In general, we found Ontario motorists to be accommodating and considerate while travelling the busy streets of Toronto and on highways with narrow shoulders or none at all.

Lakeshore Rd. took us into Mississauga and past the Rattray Marsh Conservation Area, where local residents prevented the wetland - a crucial area for fish and migrating birds - from being turned into a housing development. It was an example of how Ontarians have reclaimed their lake.

We rolled past the many lakeside parks of western Toronto, including Marilyn Bell Park and Ontario Place, and onto busy Queen's Quay to the foot of York St. Here we stopped to have coffee with Waterfront Trail executive director Marlaine Koehler, who led the launching of the project 17 years ago, and Vicki Barron, director of administration and regeneration initiatives.

After coffee, we breezed along the paths and residential streets of eastern Toronto and took Kingston Rd. to Pickering where we got rooms in a motel - after a day of 92 kilometres - and then chowed down on Japanese cuisine at a nearby restaurant. The owner showed us a piece of Kobe beef costing $150 a pound because of the animal's diet of beer and daily massages. It sounds like my kind of life, and I estimate that at 175 pounds I would be worth $26,250.

The next day took us on paths around the Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating stations, with high-security chain-link fences and signs stating there are 24/7 armed patrols. We also passed the Wesleyville oil-fired power station, a $245-million facility that has never functioned since it was built 30 years ago. Ontario has white elephants, too.

We spent a lot of time on quiet country roads, and, after 117 kilometres, we arrived at waterfront Victoria Park in Coburg, where we set up our tents.

It was the Thursday before the Victoria Day weekend, and most spots had been taken over by recreation vehicles at a cost of $2,050 for the season. There is a 10-year waiting list for a spot.

On Friday, we hit Kente Portage, the oldest road in Ontario, before joining busy Highway 2 for the ride through Trenton air base, which seems to go on forever. We completed 85 kilometres on arrival at our hotel in Belleville.

The next day, the scent of lilac was in the air as we made our way through Prince Edward County. Highway 62 took us to Highway 33, the Loyalist Parkway, and through Picton, "A Proud Loyalist Town," as the sign proclaims. The union jack flies with the Canadian flag at the Glenora ferry and the ride across the Bay of Quinte and the road to Kingston. It rained for much of the next two hours, and we were soaked when we landed at a residence of Queen's University after 86 kilometres.

Day 6 took us along the St. Lawrence Parkway, and we sailed along with a stiff wind at our back, arriving in Iroquois after pedalling 131 kilometres. We stopped just before more rain began to fall. After cleaning up, we headed over to the Monte Cristo restaurant for steaks cooked by the owner and served by his mom, a couple of former Orford, Que., residents. The meal was compliments of Doug Taylor, one of our group, whose brothers-in-law joined us.

The rain was still falling the next day, and we headed off after a large breakfast at the restaurant. Wrapped in rain jackets and pants, we pedalled through Cornwall and along the river, arriving six hours and 100 kilometres later at Rivière Beaudette.

The celebration consisted of a couple of beers, and, with an acquired taste for Ontario wine, a vow to search out more of those wines at liquor stores in the West Island of Montreal.

If you go: The Waterfront Trail is well marked with signs and regional maps at convenient sites along the way. Cyclists (or hikers) can chart the route from Niagara-on-the-Lake with The Waterfront Trail & Greenway Mapbook, $29.95 plus GST and shipping. It is published by Dun-Map Inc. and is available by ordering online at www.waterfronttrail.org. Or you can download free maps of each section at the same website.

The cyclists were: David Boicey, Bob Johnston and Mike Robbins of Ottawa, Doug Taylor of Chelsea, and David Yates of Pointe Claire.